No. 12 Louisville outlasts St. John's 72-58

Russ Smith scored 21 second-half points, including 12 straight over a 3:03 stretch that put No. 12 Louisville ahead for good and helped the Cardinals beat St. John's 72-58 on Thursday night.

In a game of spurts for both teams - who traded the lead five times - Smith led the last and crucial one for Louisville. The junior guard's dozen points led the Cardinals' 14-5 run for a 46-38 lead.

Smith finished with 24 points for Louisville, which dominated the paint 32-16 and outrebounded St. John's 45-37.

Peyton Siva added 12 points, Chane Behanan 10 and Gorgui Dieng 10 with a career-high 17 rebounds as the Cardinals (20-5, 8-4) bounced back from Saturday's five-overtime loss at Notre Dame to climb into a three-way tie for second place in the Big East Conference.

Phil Greene IV scored 21 points for St. John's (15-10, 7-6), which has lost three of its last four games.

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